Reproduced unedited from CNMG, Trinidad
A conservationist group says the local and global media were fed an inaccurate and sensationalised version of the events in Grande Riviere by persons not directly involved in the turtle conservation movement.
The Caribbean Institute of Sustainability, a group based in Port of Spain, issued a statement on the local event that has been making international headlines over the past few days in which several turtle eggs and hatchlings were crushed during excavation work at the Grande Riviere River.
President of the Caribbean Institute of Sustainability, Mr. Steven Greenleaf, said the fact that the turtle-crushing incident received such a passionate response from around the world is good news for the turtles. However, he stated that much of what has been reported is simply untrue.
Mr. Greenleaf, an ecologist and natural resource conservationist, visited Grande Riviere along with Government Ministers and other officials on Tuesday.
He said he spoke to villagers, members of the Grand Riviere Nature Tour Guide Association, biologists, conservationists, and fishermen.
He acknowledged that some viable hatchlings were killed and the best estimate given by turtle conservationists, who were actually there, was that between 100 and 200 hatchlings were killed, and not the "thousands," which were reported.
Mr. Greenleaf said when the Grande Riviere River changed its course west of its typical location, it left a narrow strip of beach, between the river and the waves, where leatherback turtles laid thousands of eggs over the last few months.
He said unfortunately, the majority of those nests became waterlogged, preventing the eggs from maturing and this meant that thousands of hatchlings never made it.
Mr. Greenleaf noted that if the river had continued on its new course into areas which support some of the highest densities of leatherback nests in the world, it would have also threatened those nests which were, and still are, successfully producing thousands of hatchlings.
The CIS President lamented that while reckless sensationalism may sell stories, it does not help these endangered animals. He said it does a great disservice to the dedicated people who have worked for years to protect them, usually without pay, often at real risk to their personal safety, and with precious little thanks.
Members of the environmental advocate group, Papa Bois Conservation, will be guests on CTV's First Up Programme on Friday morning discussing: A Proper Plan for Turtle Removal. Papa Bois Conservation first highlighted the excavation works at Grande Riviere that resulted in the destruction of leatherback turtle hatchlings and eggs.
The Caribbean Institute of Sustainability, a group based in Port of Spain, issued a statement on the local event that has been making international headlines over the past few days in which several turtle eggs and hatchlings were crushed during excavation work at the Grande Riviere River.
President of the Caribbean Institute of Sustainability, Mr. Steven Greenleaf, said the fact that the turtle-crushing incident received such a passionate response from around the world is good news for the turtles. However, he stated that much of what has been reported is simply untrue.
Mr. Greenleaf, an ecologist and natural resource conservationist, visited Grande Riviere along with Government Ministers and other officials on Tuesday.
He said he spoke to villagers, members of the Grand Riviere Nature Tour Guide Association, biologists, conservationists, and fishermen.
He acknowledged that some viable hatchlings were killed and the best estimate given by turtle conservationists, who were actually there, was that between 100 and 200 hatchlings were killed, and not the "thousands," which were reported.
Mr. Greenleaf said when the Grande Riviere River changed its course west of its typical location, it left a narrow strip of beach, between the river and the waves, where leatherback turtles laid thousands of eggs over the last few months.
He said unfortunately, the majority of those nests became waterlogged, preventing the eggs from maturing and this meant that thousands of hatchlings never made it.
Mr. Greenleaf noted that if the river had continued on its new course into areas which support some of the highest densities of leatherback nests in the world, it would have also threatened those nests which were, and still are, successfully producing thousands of hatchlings.
The CIS President lamented that while reckless sensationalism may sell stories, it does not help these endangered animals. He said it does a great disservice to the dedicated people who have worked for years to protect them, usually without pay, often at real risk to their personal safety, and with precious little thanks.
Members of the environmental advocate group, Papa Bois Conservation, will be guests on CTV's First Up Programme on Friday morning discussing: A Proper Plan for Turtle Removal. Papa Bois Conservation first highlighted the excavation works at Grande Riviere that resulted in the destruction of leatherback turtle hatchlings and eggs.
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